No fewer than 61 migrants, including women and children, mostly from Nigeria, Gambia, and other African countries, drowned at the weekend, in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Libya confirmed the incident. The AFP news agency also confirmed that most of the victims of the incident were from Nigeria, Gambia, and other African countries. The IOM, in a post on social media platform X, quoted survivors as saying that the boat, carrying about 86 people, departed the Libyan city of Zuwara, about 110 km (68 miles) from the capital, Tripoli.
It said high waves swamped the boat, and that 61 migrants, including children, were missing and presumed dead. The IOM also said 25 survivors had been transferred to a Libyan detention centre and were being given medical support.
“The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes,” IOM said. Libya is among the main departure points for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean and enter Europe.
The agency said the central Mediterranean route accounts for a total of 2,200 deaths and disappearances along its shores this year alone, the IOM report said. The majority of the deaths were recorded in Tunisia, followed by Libya, it said. The figures remain an undercount, IOM said in its report.
The IOM spokesperson called the death toll for this year a “dramatic number, which unfortunately, demonstrates that not enough is being done to save lives at sea.” In June, at least 78 people died and another 100 were rescued after a fishing boat sank off southern Greece.
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The Mediterranean crossings frequently see scores of migrants crowded onto boats too small to safely hold them. Those making the trip are typically hoping to land in Italy before making their way to other countries in Europe, some escaping conflict or persecution, others in search of work.
More than 153,000 migrants have arrived in Italy this year from Tunisia and Libya, according to the UN’s refugee agency. The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, at the weekend had talks in Rome with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni and Albania’s PM Edi Rama, on how to reduce illegal migration to Europe.
The two countries announced plans to jointly finance the journey home for migrants stranded in Tunisia, according to statements from both countries, but did not say how much money was being provided.
At the start of this year, Sunak made stopping small boat crossings in the English Channel one of the five key priorities of his government. Sea migrant arrivals to Italy have almost doubled in 2023 compared with the same period last year, with around 140,000 people coming ashore so far. Some 91 percent came from Tunisia, with the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa bearing the brunt of landings.
The European Union and Tunisia signed a “strategic partnership” deal in July that includes combating human traffickers and tightening sea borders during a sharp increase in boats leaving the North African nation for Europe.
